- Nov 20, 2024
How you "THINK" about the Bible is more important than how you "READ" it
- Jeff A. Benner
- Interpretation
- 5 comments
While there are some certain advantages to reading the Bible in its original language, in the grand scheme of things, reading the Bible in Hebrew or in English, really is not all that different.
What does make a difference, is through what lens you read it. Are you interpreting it through the lens of your culture and philosophy or through the culture and philosophy of the people who wrote it?
When the Bible speaks of a “garden,” such as in the “garden of Eden," are you thinking “produce?” If so, you’re interpreting it through your culture, not the culture of the Bible. In the Hebrew mind, the garden is a place of “protection.” We can see this in the language itself. The Hebrew word for “garden” is GaN, which is related to maGeN, a shield.
If you’re thinking the “heart” as being the seat of “emotion,” you’re not thinking correctly. To the Hebrew people, the kidneys are the seat of “emotion” and to them, the “heart” is the seat of “thought,” not the brain.
You don’t need to learn Hebrew to understand the Bible correctly, but you must read it through the mind of those who wrote it, not through your modern 21st century mind.
About my Blog
The Bible was written in an ancient eastern culture, which views the world very differently from the way we do in our modern western culture.
My blog objectives:
Expose how our modern translations have ignored the original language of the Bible in order to present a Bible that is more easily readable by modern readers.
Transform your way of thinking to be more in line with the authors of the Bible.
5 comments
Thank you for this clarity.
I love the poetic sound of the old English, so I still read and memorize the KJV. I do look forward to the day when the original text overtakes my current understanding of the scriptures. Thanks for the all the hard work, I know it’s not the easy way.
Then there was that one day when a visiting minister quoted from the prophets and asked us "The LORD will work and who will let Him?" We all fist-bumped and yelled back "I will". "That's too bad, he said, the word let meant prevent in 1600's English." Thus began the journey that eventually led us to Jeff Benner. Thank you Sir for your huge effort and love for the Word of Elohim!
Thank you for sharing your story. Words always mean something and sometimes it’s not what we think.
I think but do not know if the KJV was the last "state-church" translation. From the history I have read, the "state" liked the power of the Word over people and adopted its use for the "states" purposes. Which is control of its peoples. I think the "state-church" which still exists has distorted the Word to its own uses.